June 28, 2018

A legal separation presents immediate problems if you put your estate planning documents on pause and don’t take the time to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Even if you’re still determining the future of the marriage, leaving the possibility open that your spouse can make decisions on your behalf can be quite problematic. 

Separation does not automatically mean that spousal rights are extinguished entirely. If you want to ensure that someone other than your currently estranged spouse is able to take legal action on your behalf or even plan your funeral, you need to have a health care directive and other documents in place. The tragic deaths of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade both illustrate the challenges of estate planning from the perspective of being separated from a spouse.

If someone is not legally divorced from an estranged spouse, this can present problems along into the future and ones that can be easily guarded against by scheduling a consultation with an estate planning attorney. When you get separated, you need to update all of your legal information and have a consultation with a lawyer about what issues need to be clearly and fully addressed in your estate plan.